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I GAS MOTOR. N0. 293,762. Patented Feb. 19, 1884.

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No.293,762. Patented Feb. 19;.1884.-

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U TE STATES HIRAM s. MAXIM,

PATENT; OFFICE.

OF PARIS, FRANCE.

GA'S-MOTORL SPECIFIGATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 293,762, dated February 19, 1884.

Application filed March 9, 1883, (No model.)

Be it known that I, HIRAM S. MAXIM, a citizen of the United States, at present residing in Paris, in the Republic of France, have invented certain new andruseful Improvements in Gas-Motors, of which'the following is a specification, reference being had to the draw ings accompanying and forming a part of the same. 7

My invention relates, mainly, to gas-motor engines, wherein the gaseous pressure in a cylinder, resulting from the combustion of a mixture of air and an inflammable gas or vapor, is caused to operate a piston and-drive a crankshaft; and it consists, first, in the combination of two working-pistons and two exhaust 'or vacuum-producing pistons operating together in the same engine under the conditions hereinafter set forth; second, in the combination of two sets of cylinders, working and exhaust pistons connected together and operating th erein, and two sets of air-inlet, gas-inlet, and-exhaust-valves, whereby the engine is'rendered double-acting; third, in the combination, with the parts named, of an igniting or exploding device constructed and arranged .to explode the gaseous charges in the cylinders alternate- (similar engines,of starting devices OffllOVGl' construction; and, lastly, in detailsin-the c0n-.

struction of the several parts of the engine and appurtenances, the nature of which willbe,

more fully hereinafter described,

a In the drawings I have illustrated an engine embodying the several featureslof. mylinveir' tion, Figure 1 being a plan view of the engine;v

Fig. 2, a central vertical and longitudinal section of the same; Fig. 3, a horizontal longik tudinal section.

The engine represented is an improvement on that shown in another application filed .by

me-viz., No. 82,361and may be arranged either as a horizontal or vertical engine. present form being, however, adapted espe-- cially for engines of large'size, is. advanta' The. several parts of the engine, their purposes and geously mounted on a horizontal base.

functions, will be described by reference to the drawings.

A and'A are the working-pistons, B and B the exhaust-pistons, or those designed forlproducing a vacuum in the parts of the cylinder.

The.

ders of greater diameter, in which the exhaustpistons B B operate. The cylinders O G are separated by a stout head, a, in which is a chamber, a. The' cylinders may be formed independently of one another and the'bed-plate E of the engine, or they maybe cast in one piece with the bed-plate, the special method of their construction, together with that of other parts of the enginesuch as the several supports, conduits for admitting or expelling the air and'gas, and the.likebeing in a measure immaterial to the objects of the present inven tion. The pistons A A are connected by the rod 12, that passes through the head a, and to keep this rod from overheating a circulation of water is keptnp in the space a in direct contact with the rod 6; As a further precaution against the overheating of the cylinders O O or. any of their-parts, they are surroundl ed by the water-jackets c c.

In the lower part of the cylinders O. C, and at their ends, are the. air-inlet valves G G, with stems 9, that are connected to the ends of a flat spring, '9, the force of which is adjusted to into the cylinder by the action of the pistons. On thesides of the cylinders U C are the gas-inlet valves H H, the stems h of which extend out through the tubes h, and are com- 'bined with springs s, that keep the valves H H closed. The tubesh, communicate with a gas-supply pipe, 6, by branch pipes, as shown. Opposite the gas-inlet valves are chambers f f,through which the flame is introduced.

be'rs at the proper intervals, I employ a slide, J, having two chambers, i 4;, extending through it, from which chambers extend passages Z Z, leading to smaller chambers, a b, in the inner face of the slide. 1

'K is a flame-chimney midway between the chambers f f, in which agas-jet is kept constantly burning. In their "normal movement,- the pistons A A are lifted completelyout of tervening between the small and l'arge cyli n pistons A and A work, and D Dthe cylinallow. the proper amount of air to' be drawn Forigniting the gaseous mixture in these chamtheir respective cylinders into theespacesin 4 ders. In these spaces are set metal rings L I ward movement of the slide the chamber A L, that serve to hold the pistons A A in place when they are lifted out of the cylinders and prevent the expansion of their rings. lassages m m lead from the spaces M M, in which the rings L L are placed, to exhaust-valves N N, opening into a chamber, 11, from which leads an exhaust-pipe, N.

F is the crank-shaft; F, the connecting-rod connecting the crank with the'pistons A B.

P is an eccentric on the crank-shaft; I a rod connecting the eccentric strap with the igniting slide or piston J.

111 a wheel, 0, on the crank-shaft F, is a roller, 0, carried by an arm extending from the hub of the wheel O. I

R is a slide or bar mounted in any suitable manner alongside the wheel 0, so as to be capable of a horizontal reciprocating movement.

On the slide R are two projections, r a", with which the roller 0 is brought successively in contact by the rotation of wheel 0. The slide R is connected by a rod, It, with a double bell-crank lever, t, pivoted between the gasinlct valves H H in a position to force one or the other valve open, according to the direc tion in which it is turned. It is desirable that the roller 0 be connected with a centrifugal governor of suitable kind, whereby itmay be shifted toward or from the slide R as the speed of the engine varies. The projections r 1" are beveled or stepped when this is the ease, in order that the roller 0 may open the valves H H more or less, according to the speed of the engine.

The governor and connections are not shown herein, as they do not enter into the present invention, and are fully shown and described in other applications filed by me.

The operation of the engine is as follows: The pistons are moved by turning the crankshaft F. As one of the pistons-say Ais drawn out of the cylinder 0, it draws in air through the valveG; but as the force of spring 9 prevents valve G opening to its full extent not enough air is drawn in to fill the cylinder,

so that a partial vacuum is formed. The piston B at the same time produces a partial vacuum in the cylinder Dand space M, so that when the piston A has passed beyond the cylinderO the air passes out freclyinto the space M and cylinder D, establishing an equilibrium of pressure between the two cylinders. On the backward movement of the pistons the piston A, on entering its cylinder, closes ofi' communication with cylinder D. At this moment the roller 0 comes into contact with the projection r on slide R and opens the gasvalve H, by which sufficient gas or gas and air should enter the cylinder 0 to bring the pressure therein to about one atmosphere. The backward movement of the pistons A B compresses the gas in cylinder 0 until a pressure of about forty pounds is attained. At this moment the piston or slide J has been carried forward sufficiently to bring the chamber i opposite the chamber f, and as on the backreceives a charge of gas which is ignited as it issues from chamber i the application of this llame to the compressed gases in cylinder 0 causes an explosion which drives the piston A forward. Then the latter leaves the cylinder O, the gases in thelatter are sucked out and the same action continues. On the backstroke of the pistons the air and gas in cylin-' der D is driven out through valve N. While the piston A is driven forward by the explosion of gas in cylinder 0, piston A is drawn backward, compressing. the gas admitted through valve H, which was opened by the contact of roller 0 with the projection r as the piston A was entering the cylinder 0 on its back-stroke. The return of the slide J from igniting the gasin cylinder C brings the chamber a, with its lighted charge of gas, opposite the chamber f and explodes the charge in eylinderO. In all respects the further action of pistons A B is the same as that of pistons A B, the operations of charging and discharging in each case being alternate. By thus making the engine double acting a large amount of power may be got out of a comparatively small engine, and the speed is much more uniform than in ordinary single acting engines.

To start an engine of this kind requires considerable power. It is also necessary to remove the belt or shift it onto a loose pulley before starting heavy machinery. This of course requires the fly-wheel to be made twice as wide as usual in order to give room to run the belt onto a loose pulley. In order to avoid these difficulties I have devised a starting device applicable to this and similar engines, the construction of which I will now explain.

On the crank-shaft F is a drum, S, a cogwheel, S, and a tangent-screw, s, on a shaft, U, turned by a crank, and capable of being dropped away from the eogwheel S. Over the drum S runs a cord, V, that runs over a pulley, V, and is then attached to a heavy weight, V. The drum S and cog-wheel S are loose on the shaft, and may be turned to wind up the weight without turning the crankshaft. The unwinding of the cord, however, turns the shaft F by a ratchet and pawls c011- tained in the drum, as shown. The fiy-wheel F is loose on the shaft F.

X is a friction-clamp keyed to the end of shaft F, and Z a hand-wheel set in the end of said shaft for loosening or tightening the friction-clamp X against the fly-wheel.

To start the engine the clamp is raised from the fly-wheel by unscrewing the hand-wheel Z. The weight 7 is then wound up, and the gas-flame having been ignited and the other necessary steps taken, the shaft U is dropped away from the cog-wheel S by removing a pin, a, which supports one of the bearings of said shaft. The unwinding of the weight XV turns the crank-shaft F and moves the pistons, by this means drawing in the charges of gas and starting the engine. Then the engine has started, the hand-wheel Z is tightened up, causing the friction-clamp X to bind against the fly-Wheel F, thusimparting the movement of the engine to whatever machinery it may be desired.

I have now describedthe general plan and purpose of my invention. Many minor details of construction that contribute to the more efficient operation of the engine are not described at length, inasmuch as they are in part well understood by those skilled in the art,

and in part described and claimed in other ap plications filed by me. Reserving, therefore,

the right to claim in other applications'for Letters Patent now on file or about to be made features of novelty shown herein, but not claimecl WVhat I claim is- 1. ma gas'motor or engine opcrating by ex 'to end, of two working and two exhaust pistons connected together and working in said cylinders, valve mechanisms connected with the cylinders, and igniting mechanism operating conjointly as a double-acting engine, as set forth. I

3. In a double-acting gas-engine, the combination, with two sets of cylinders and connected pistons working therein, of two sets of exhaust-air-inlet and gas-inlet valves, and an ig= niting mechanism for exploding the charges in the cylinders alternately, as set forth.

4. The combination, with cylinders O O and connected pistons A A, of valve mechanism for admitting charges of air and gas into the cylinders alternately, mechanism for igniting the charges, and mechanism for withdrawing the products of the combustion of the charges, these parts being constructed and arranged for conj ointly operating as a double-acting engine,

as set forth.

5. The combination, with the shaft of a gas engine or motor, of a loose belt or fly-wheel, means for looking it to the shaft, and a starting device for imparting a rotary movement to the shaft, as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination, with the shaft of a gas engine or motor, of a winding-drum, a cord, and a weight arranged for imparting a rotary movement to the shaft for starting the engine, as set forth. 7 I

7. The combination, with the shaft of a gas engine or motor, of a loose belt or fiy-wheel, an adjustable friction-clamp, a Winding-drum, a cord, and a weight, these parts being constructed to' operate as a starting device for the engine, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 16th day of February, 1883. HIRAM S. MAXIM. Witnesses:

E. P. MAOLEAN, EDWIN AGOSTINI. 

